Month: September 2013

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It has really been a long while since I’ve posted! I can’t believe that the summer is gone already and that fall is upon us! While I lament the passing of the warm sunny days and going to the swimming pool, there are certainly many aspects of fall that I look forward to. One of the best things about fall, in my opinion, is the official arrival of apple season!

Now, I don’t know if my readers know, but I grew up in Saudi Arabia. While this may not seem relevant to fall, let me give you a bit of background. I grew up knowing three types of apples: Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith. I didn’t know that there were any other kinds. Imagine my surprise and delight when upon moving to the Northeast, I discovered endless varieties of apples to be had! Fuji, Gala, Mutlu, Macintosh, Spartan, the list goes on and on!

Since our CSA runs through October, we are naturally partaking in the apple festivities! Not only do we get fresh-pressed apple cider, we get bags and bags of apples! We were literally overflowing with apples! As a bonus, we also got a bag of Barlett pears! I love my pears!

Well, what would you do with more apples that you can consume? Why, make a pie, naturally! AND, it happened to be my little brother’s birthday, so why not make TWO pies? I know, crazy, right? It was like a pie factory in our apartment! My daughter had lots of fun helping. While she didn’t get to wield a knife (she’s only 2.5!) she did enjoy helping me put all the apples into the bowl and then mixing the apples in the sugar mixture. She also enjoyed eating the apple filling out of the mixing bowl as I rolled out the crusts.

The pies kept our apartment smelling delicious with the aromas of cinnamon, nutmeg and apples, which is a perfect way to welcome fall into our house. Happy fall everyone!

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients for the filling in a large bowl. Let sit. The mixture will accumulate water as it sits.

2. Cut shortening into flour and salt until you have coarse crumbs. Add cold water 1 T at a time, mixing as you go. The dough will be ready when it pulls away from the bowl and is smooth.

3. Divide dough into two even pieces. Roll out one piece into a large circle so that it is larger than the pie dish. Place in the bottom of a glass pie dish so that it comes up the sides with about 1/2 and inch of overhang. Use a fork to punch holes in the bottom of the crust. This will help ensure that when the pie is baking, the crust won’t form bubbles.

4. Pour filling into pie crust in dish. Roll out the other pie crust so that it is at least a inch larger than the pie dish. Fold into quarters and use scissors to cut vents into the top of the crust. Take the crust and fold the edges to seal the bottom and the top crust together.

5. Cover the crust edges with aluminum foil. Place a covered sheet pan on the rack below the pie rack. Place pie in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Take off the aluminum foil and bake for 25 more minutes. Take out the pie and let cool.

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About Me

Welcome to my blog! I am a wife, mother, architect by day, and all-around dabbler in whatever catches my attention. I love baking, crafting, and anything that requires using my hands. This blog is about my journey to discovering cool and fun ways to express myself through different media. Thanks for visiting!